At the Bookworm Cafe

More than a few readers of The Risen have expressed how they especially enjoy the physicality of the actual book itself; indeed, it was carefully designed to specifically evoke the physical senses in ways that raise certain sense vibrations and escort the reader into a certain intimacy with the material; meaning it feels good to hold and touch as well as to look at. Knowing that the actual material is challenging and could make the reading process slow and even challenging at times (it was designed for this, also) we had considered publishing it in a hardcover edition, but opted for the trade edition form to allow for the most inexpensive and portable version possible while still using the best of archival-approved materials. 

All that being said, a few people have literally worn through their copies from much handling and marking them up with highlighting and notations, and are on their second copy. While we appreciate such diligence and even devotion, we'd like to make a very simple suggestion to help extend the life of the book.  When coming upon certain phrases, paragraphs, etc., that you want to emphasize to be able to return to, simply make a small dot with your pencil or pen next to it. Then write down the page number on the last blank page of the book; a word or two next to the page number could be added to remind you of the subject, but when I (August) just go to the page, I see the dot and upon reading the text, remember what it was about that page that I wanted to keep in mind. I have done this for many years, as I have a lot of books, and dislike highlighting and underlining, almost as much as I secretly frown upon turning down a corner of a page as a bookmark.

Many of my books may remain shelved for quite some time before I get the urge to re-read them, and I especially like to go to the last page first to see if I noted any particular page numbers, and then go to those pages first; I'm often startled by some of the things I placed a dot next to; often, they're incredibly but appropriately synchronistic to my life at that time.